Foreign doctors shore up NHS

A record number of overseas doctors are shoring up the Health Service, official figures reveal.

They show that over 9,000 foreign doctors registered to practise in the UK last year - more than double the figure for the previous year.

Most came from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and the West Indies.

They dwarfed the 4,443 home-grown recruits who signed up with the General Medical Council during 2003.

The number of British-trained doctors increased by just 155 from 2002, the GMC figures revealed.

In stark contrast, an extra 4,880 overseas doctors signed up to practise here, taking their number to 9,336 last year.

Of these, 1,770 came from the European Economic Area - an increase of 322 from 2002.

Registering with the GMC is a legal requirement before a doctor can work in Britain.

The council's president, Sir Graeme Catto, said yesterday: "It is good to see so many doctors joining the register."

NHS vulnerable

But critics warn that reliance on foreign staff leaves the NHS vulnerable because there is a possibility that workers could return to their own country at short notice.

There are also concerns that doctors are being lured away from Third World countries, where their expertise is badly needed.

Extra doctors are vital to keep the NHS running. They also allow the Government to meet recruitment targets to expand the service and cut waiting times for patients.

Labour has increased efforts to train and recruit more doctors in Britain, creating additional medical school places and increasing investment.

But the British Medical Association expects the number of foreign recruits to continue to rise for another decade until more doctors come on stream from UK training programmes.

"We believe the NHS needs another 10,000 GPs and at least 10,000 more consultants to keep pace with demand," a spokesman said.

"It takes ten years to train as a GP and about 15 to train as a consultant, so even if the Government is pouring money into recruitment now, the effects will not be seen for many years."

Home-grown effort required

Tory health spokesman Dr Andrew Murrison said that, while foreign doctors were to be welcomed to the NHS, more efforts were needed to create home-grown recruits.

"We must make sure enough is being done to create a long-term solution to the NHS staffing crisis, otherwise there is a risk that we are just using a "sticking plaster"," he said.

"We also have a number of concerns about unethical recruitment.

"It is fantastic to see an increase in the number of doctors joining the medical register. But I would like to be reassured firstly that we are not poaching from developing countries whose needs are greater than our own and secondly that we are doing all we can to recruit home grown talent, as those trained abroad may return home at any time."